SEC MEN

Arkansas loses lead, wins at end

Arkansas' Michael Qualls (24) celebrates after scoring, in front of South Carolina's Michael Carrera, right, and Laimonas Chatkevicius during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Thursday, March 5, 2015, in Columbia, S.C. Arkansas won 78-74. (AP Photo/Travis Bell)
Arkansas' Michael Qualls (24) celebrates after scoring, in front of South Carolina's Michael Carrera, right, and Laimonas Chatkevicius during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Thursday, March 5, 2015, in Columbia, S.C. Arkansas won 78-74. (AP Photo/Travis Bell)

NO. 18 ARKANSAS 78, SOUTH CAROLINA 74

Arkansas’ basketball team finally ended its frustration at South Carolina.

The No. 18 Razorbacks beat South Carolina 78-74 Thursday night in Columbia, S.C., for their first road victory over the Gamecocks in 14 years.

Game sketch

RECORDS Arkansas 24-6, 13-4 SEC; South Carolina 14-15, 5-12

STARS Bobby Portis scored 24 points and had eight rebounds and a key blocked shot in the final minute, while Michael Qualls had 18 points and Anthlon Bell 17 for Arkansas. South Carolina’s Tyrone Johnson had 18 points before leaving with leg cramps in the closing moments.

TURNING POINT Arkansas finished the game on an 18-3 run, sparked by eight points from Anthlon Bell, over the final 5:53 to wipe out a 71-60 deficit.

KEY STATS Arkansas hit six of its last 10 shots to key its comeback while South Carolina, the worst shooting team in the SEC, made 25 of 49 (51 percent), its best performance in an SEC game this year. UP NEXT Arkansas hosts LSU at 1 p.m. Saturday at Walton Arena in Fayetteville.

Arkansas (24-6, 13-4 SEC) saw a 20-point first-half lead evaporate, then overcame an 11-point deficit in the final seven minutes to win for the first time at Colonial Life Arena, where the Razorbacks had been 0-6.

Arkansas had last won at South Carolina on Feb. 20, 2001, at Frank McGuire Arena, when Joe Johnson hit a game-winning three-point basket in the final seconds for a 69-67 victory.

“Well, I said it on TV, we giveth and we taketh away,” Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said. “We were up in this game by 20 and South Carolina got some momentum there right before halftime.

They came out in the second half and they were possessed. It was a game of runs, but thank God we had the last run. We had some big plays down the stretch by some key guys.”

Sophomore forward Bobby Portis led the Razorbacks with 24 points and eight rebounds.

Arkansas junior guard Michael Qualls scored 18 points, including a jump shot that put the Razorbacks ahead 74-73 with 1:26 left.

Portis blocked a shot by Sindarius Thornwell and scored on a rebound basket with 15.3 seconds left to make it 76-73.

Qualls fouled Thornwell with 2.6 seconds left on what was nearly a three-point attempt. Qualls brushed Thornwell from behind as he was shooting, and replays showed Thornwell’s right foot was on the three-point line, making it a two-point shot.

Thornwell’s first free throw made it 76-74, then he missed his second attempt on purpose hoping the Gamecocks could score a basket on the rebound.

The rebound went long and it was grabbed by Qualls, who was fouled with 0.7 seconds left, but it was Gamecocks’ sixth foul of the half, one shy of putting Arkansas in the one-on-one bonus.

Brian Steele was called for intentionally fouling Portis on the inbound pass and Portis hit two free throws for the final margin.

Senior guard Tyrone Johnson led South Carolina with 18 points, but he didn’t play the final 2:29 after suffering leg cramps and was carried to the bench by two his teammates.

Sophomore guard Duane Notice added 16 points for the Gamecocks (14-15, 5-12) and junior forward Michael Carrera had 14.

Arkansas junior guard Anthlon Bell scored 17 points and hit 5 of 8 three-point attempts. Senior guard Ky Madden had 9 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds.

The Razorbacks outscored the Gamecocks 18-3 in the final 5:53. Bell started the run with a three-point basket.

South Carolina, which trailed 43-23 in the first half, took a 71-60 lead on Notice’s layup with 7:21 left.

Portis scored 10 or more points for the 25th consecutive game and for the 29th time in 30 games this season. He scored six points against North Texas in the season’s fifth game.

The Razorbacks finished 6-3 in SEC road games. It is their most victories in conference road games since the 1994 national championship team went 6-2, before the SEC expanded from 16 to 18 games

Arkansas had clinched the No. 2 seed by virtue of Tennessee’s victory at LSU Wednesday night.

It was the first time Anderson beat a Frank Martin-coached team away from home. The two coaches had been 6-6 against each other in the SEC and in the Big 12 — when Anderson was at Missouri and Martin at Kansas State — with Martin’s teams 5-0 at home and 1-0 on a neutral court with a victory in last year’s SEC Tournament.

Arkansas improved to 17-12 against South Carolina since both teams joined the SEC for the 1991-1992 season.

Upcoming Events